Door mat and a method of manufacture thereof

ABSTRACT

A door mat comprising an integral mass of loops of synthetic resin monofilaments which includes a surface layer having a decorative pattern on its upper side and a reverse surface layer having its upper side joined to the lower side of said surface layer. The undersigned of the reverse surface layer may be joined to an anti-slip layer, which may be in the form of a lattice layer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Heretofore, a variety of products were available provided with ananti-slip mechanism produced by laminating a netlike sheet on the floorcontacting surface of a carpet or mat, or produced by adhering coillikecontinuous fiber in a random manner on the floor contacting surface of acarpet or mat. However, such anti-slip mechanisms were applied to apreformed carpet or mat in a secondary manner so that the production andfabrication processes became complicated and took longer time to make.Furthermore, both materials and apparatus for adhesion or heating werenecessary, which increased the costs. The resulting products were notalways satisfactory from the standpoint of durability.

Also, the pattern provided on the surface of the carpet or mat wasapplied by knitting, embroidery, dyeing or paint, but this requiredtechnology of a high degree and a long manufacturing time. This resultedin expensive products which were not always suitable for door mats, andthere were problems such as peeling of the paint and the like.

In use door mats are easy to move and it is necessary to provide themwith an anti-slip mechanism. Also, since they are often installed at theentrance of a building good appearance and decorative effects aredesirable. However, the prior door mats constructed of looped syntheticresin monofilaments have not been provided with an anti-slip mechanism.Also, such door mats were not provided with a pattern so that they wereextremely unattractive and poor in appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to door mats and to a method for the manufactureof door mats. In particular it relates to a method in which a moldingroll containing concave grooves on its peripheral surface, and a patternforming roll with convex stripes on its peripheral surface are disposedin opposition to each other, and a large number of synthetic resinmonofilaments are extruded and some of the filaments accumulate in loopform in the concave grooves of the molding roll to form an anti-sliplayer, and other monofilaments are deposited in loop form both on thesurface of the anti-slip layer and the molding roll to thereby form areverse surface layer, and still other filaments are deposited on thewater surface lower than the surface of the molding roll to form asurface layer in loop form on the reverse surface layer, and theanti-slip layer is provided on the reverse surface layer of the mat byforming the decoration pattern by the convex stripes pattern on thepattern forming roll, and a design or decoration pattern is integrallyformed on the surface layer.

An object of this invention is to provide a door mat that has a surfacelayer and a reverse surface layer formed by a large number of loopedsynthetic resin monofilaments, and each layer thereof is mutually fusedand bonded at the intersections of the loops.

Another object of this invention is to provide a door mat that has asurface layer with a large number of looped synthetic resinmonofilaments and to form a reverse surface layer on the undersurface ofthe surface layer, and moreover, provide an anti-slip layer on theundersurface of the reverse surface layer, and to provide a method ofmanufacturing such door mats.

A further object of this invention is to provide a door mat in which adesign pattern is provided on the surface layer of the door mat.

A further object of this invention is to provide a door mat thatprovides a molding roll having a design pattern of convex stripes on itsperipheral surface in order to provide a design pattern on the surfacelayer of the door mat formed by a large number of looped synthetic resinmonofilaments, and to provide a method of manufacturing such door mats.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a pattern formingroll provided with convex stripes on its peripheral surface in order toprovide a design pattern on the surface layer of the door mat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural schematic view of a manufacturing machine for adoor mat;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a molding roll in which a pattern ofconcave groove 6 is provided on its peripheral surface;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pattern forming roll in which apattern of convex stripes is provided on its peripheral surface;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a door mat in which an anti-slip layerand a surface layer with a pattern are provided;

FIG. 5 is a side view in which part of the door mat of FIG. 4 isenlarged;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the reverse surface of the door mat ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the condition of the door matof FIG. 4 in use;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a door mat in which its peripheralsurface is formed by using a flat molding roll, so that the reversesurface of the door mat becomes flat and a pattern is formed only on thesurface layer of the door mat; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a complete door mat by providing ahemming on the peripheral edges of the door mat of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an extruder that extrudes fusedsoft vinyl chloride resin and a spinning pack 2 is connected to itsoutlet, and nozzles (not shown) are arranged in three rows on the lowerpart of the spinning pack 2, and rows of filaments F1-F3 are spundownwardly from these nozzles.

The rows of these monofilaments are such that filaments F1 form theanti-slip layer S of the door mat, filaments F2 form the reverse layer Lof the door mat, and the filaments F3 form the surface layer A of thedoor mat.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a molding roll formed by providing concavegrooves 4 of the lattice type or concave grooves 4' in the form ofletters or the like on its peripheral surface as is shown in FIG. 2.Roll 3 is disposed beneath the spinning pack 2 and rotates in the arrowdirection.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a pattern forming roll disposed inopposition to the molding roll 3, as is shown in FIG. 1, which rotatesin the arrow direction and is provided with projecting stripes 6 on itsperipheral surface as shown in FIG. 3. This pattern forming roll 5 isconstructed so that the distance with respect to the molding roll 3 canbe adjusted according to the projecting stripes 6.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a guide roll for the door mat that is fedfrom the molding roll 3 and the pattern forming roll 5, being positionedto move the door mat in a perpendicular direction. It rotates in thearrow direction as shown in FIG. 1. Reference numeral 8 denotes afeeding roll.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a cooling water tank that accommodates thepattern forming roll 5 and the guide roll 7, and the cooling water iskept at a fixed temperature (50°-60° C.). The temperature of the coolingwater is set to a temperature that gradually cools the monofilamentsF1-F3 so that the monofilaments are formed into loop groups. Also, anoutflow pipe 11 communicating with the inside is provided on the lowerpart of one side wall of the cooling water tank 9, and an inflow pipe 10is similarly provided on the upper part thereof. These pipes 10 and 11are connected by means of a circulation pump 12 and a water heater 13,and a water supply pipe 15 provided with a cold water supply valve 14connected to the water heater 13.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a water temperature adjusting meterdisposed on one side of the cooling water tank 9 by a detecting unithaving its lower end immersed in the water, and being connected to thewater heater 13 and the cooling water supply valve 14 electrically. Forexample, when the temperature of the cooling water becomes lower than apredetermined temperature, a signal is transmitted to the water heater13 from the water temperature adjusting meter 16. The water heater 13then generates heat and at the same time operates the circulation pump12 to suck the water in the cooling water tank 9 from the inflow pipe 11and is made to pass through the water heater 13. The water heated to apredetermined temperature is made to outflow form the outflow pipe 10.However, in this case, the cold water supply valve 14 is closed.

Also, when the temperature of the cooling water becomes higher than apredetermined temperature, a signal is transmitted to the cold watersupply valve 14 from the water temperature adjusting meter 16. The coldwater supply valve 14 is then released, and at the same time operatesthe circulation pump 12 so that the cold water fed from the water supplypipe 15 is made to outflow from the outflow pipe 10. In this case, theheat source of the water heater 13 is turned off. As described above,the temperature of the water in the cooling water tank 9 is almostalways kept constant. In this way, the water surface 17 of the coolingwater is adjusted to be a predetermined level beneath the nozzlesurface.

Furthermore, a convection restraint cover 18 is provided along a portionof the peripheral surface of the pattern forming roll 5 to cover theportion extending from the submerged cooling water to a portion that isslightly higher than the water surface 17. This convection restraintcover 18 prevents the temperature of the pattern forming roll 5 fromrapidly cooling.

Among the rows of monofilaments to be fed from the spinning pack 2, theF1 row reaches the surface of the molding roll 3 first and forms a layerof loops L1 of the small ring type that accumulate in the concavegrooves 4 or the concave grooves 4' provided on the peripheral surfaceof the molding roll 3, with the loops fusing at the intersections. Thereis thus formed an anti-slip layer S of lattice shape by virtue of therotation of the molding roll 3.

A row of monofilaments F2 then deposits over the entire surface of themolding roll 3, including over the anti-slip layer S to thus form theloop layer L2, (see FIG. 5) and the intersection of the loop layer L2and the loop layer L1 of the anti-slip layer S are fused together, andthe intersection of each loop layer L2 composed of monofilaments F2 isfused together to form a reverse layer L that is deposited on the watersurface 17.

On the other hand, a loop layer L3 lattice is formed whose lattice islarger than those of the loop layers L1 and L2 formed by the rows of themonofilaments F1 and F2 and this loop layer L3 deposits over the reversesurface layer L, and the surface layer A of the door mat is formed byfusing at the mutual intersections, and the outer surface of the surfacelayer A is deformed by the pattern forming roll 5 into a pattern D bythe projecting stripes 6 provided on the peripheral surface of thepattern forming roll 5.

The door mat is transferred directly down into the water, and the loopsL3 of the surface layer A are gradually cooled in the water andstabilized to become a three dimensional complex structure, so that adoor mat M of the shape shown in FIGS. 4 through 6 can be produced.

As shown in these drawings, the size of the loop layers L1-L3 to beformed by the rows of filaments F1-F3 is such that the loop diameterbecomes smaller in proportion to the perpendicular distance to themolding roll 3, and accordingly, the loop diameter L1 of the anti-sliplayer S is a minimum, and the reverse surface layer L forms loopdiameters L larger than that of the anti-slip layer S. Furthermore, thedistance that the monofilaments F3 drop to the water surface 17 is thelongest, and thus, the maximum loop diameter is formed.

Door mats of different structure can be produced by merely changing themounting height of the molding roll 3 or the level of the water surface17, which in turn changes the size or the shape of the loop diametersL1-L3 or easily changes rising angle of the loop L3 of the surface layerA.

The door mat M produces a novel beauty since the surface layer A forms athree dimensional shape as shown in FIG. 4, and has a decoration patternD of concavo-convex design on its surface. Also, the non-skid propertiesare increased as shown in FIG. 7 due to the formation of theconcavo-convex pattern, and the concave pattern portion collects a largeamount of mud and increases the mud removing function. Furthermore,since spaces 19 are formed between the reverse layer L and the spacedapart portion of the anti-slip layer S, the mud collecting propertiesare excellent as well as favorable cushioning properties. The collectedmud passes downwardly through the reverse layer L into the inside of theanti-slip layer and the spaces within the lattice shape, and also themud is thus not scattered outside the perimeter of the door mat sincethe mud is held due to the structure of the lattice, and as a result,the door mat keeps the surroundings clean.

The molding roll 3 and the pattern forming roll 5 are exchangeablyprovided in the cooling water tank 9, and the optional rolls may bechosen and exchanged with the rolls 3 and 5 having a variety of designpatterns, whereby a door mat having a variety of design patterns an beobtained.

Also, in order to produce a door mat without an anti-slip layer, themolding roll 3 having the concave grooves 4 on its peripheral surface asshown in FIG. 2 is replaced with a molding roll (not shown) which isflat on its peripheral surface. The door mat M' as shown in FIG. 8 canbe produced in which a decoration pattern D is formed on only thesurface layer A, and the reverse surface layer does not have theanti-slip layer S. FIG. 9 shows a door mat completed by hemming theperipheral edge of the door mat M' that is shown in FIG. 8.

Furthermore, in the case of producing a mat (not shown) in which ananti-slip layer S is provided, and a decoration pattern D is notprovided on the surface layer A, the molding roll 3 having the concavegroove 4 on its peripheral surface shown in FIG. 2 is used, and in lieuof the pattern forming roll S, a pressing roll (not shown) whoseperipheral surface is flat is used. This pressing roll functions so thatit applies the pressure to the loop group on the molding roll 3 and theanti-slip layer S is efficiently formed.

The door mat of this invention provides a softness and elasticity by theinterval between the loop group of the surface layer and the reversesurface layer and the anti-slip layer, which gives a comfortable feelingto the user when walking, and yet, collects mud. Moreover, the surfacelayer, reverse surface layer and the anti-slip layer are integrallyformed whereby a good slip effect of the durable type is attained.

The door mat according to this invention provides a novel decorativebeauty by the decorative pattern formed on the loop groups of thesurface layer.

The mud removed drops from the gaps of the loop groups in the surfacelayer and in the reversal layer of the door mat and is collected withoutbeing scattered outside of the anti-slip layer forming the lattice,whereby the mud can be simply removed by turning up the door mat,providing an efficiency in workability of the cleaning.

Accordingly, the door mat according to this invention is excellent tocollect mud and on account of a compound structure of the surface layer,reverse surface layer and anti-slip layer, in which the size and/or theshape of the loops constituting the monofilaments is different, makingthe mud stay in the anti-slip layer forming the lattice withoutscattering outside, and as a result, keeping the surroundings clean.Moreover, the retained mud can be easily removed by turning up the doormat, and the mud adhered to the door mat can be easily removed bybeating or simply washing it with water whereby it can be used in aclean condition.

Moreover, the door mat according to this invention increases the mudremoving function and safety by the decorative pattern formed on theloop group of the surface layer. Yet, the decorative beauty that cannotbe found in the conventional door mat can be brought about, and whenused at the entrance of a building that attracts the eyes of people, anadditional value that is both beauty and practical value can bedemonstrated.

Furthermore, the surface layer, reverse surface layer and the anti-sliplayer can be integrally and continuously formed whereby the productivityis high and the cost of production is low, and the door mat is of anintegral structure which is superior in the strength, which preventsslippage, and can be used with a safety for a long period of time.

The cushion property of the door mat according to this invention isexcellent since spaces are between the reverse surface of the door matand the anti-slip layer.

By selecting the molding roll, the anti-slip layer may be provided onthe reverse surface of the door mat or may not be provided so that thestructure of the surface layer and the reverse surface layer can bechosen according to the location where the door mat is to be used.

These door mats can be produced efficiently, are of the integralstructure and their strength is excellent.

What is claimed:
 1. A door mat comprising a three-layer integral mass ofmutually fused and bonded loops of synthetic resin monofilaments, saidmat comprising:(a) a bottom anti-slip layer (S) consisting of a latticeshaped arrangement having a plurality of open spaces (19) which openspaces (19) are adapted to receive and contain mud or dirt that isdeposited on the top of the mat and which filtered downwardly throughthe mat, (b) a top surface layer (A) that has an arrangement of concavedepressions in its otherwise planar surface, said depressions presentinga patterned concave-convex design appearance in the top surface layer(A), and (c) an intermediate layer (L) sandwiched between said bottomanti-slip layer (S) and said top surface layer (A),wherein the size orshapes of the loops in said three layers being progressively larger fromthe bottom anti-slip layer through the intermediate layer to the topsurface layer, and whereby mud deposited on said top surface (A) passesdownwardly through said intermediate layer (L) and into said open spaced(19) of said bottom anti-slip layer (S) to thus insure that the mud isnot scattered outside the perimeter of the door mat.